# man(1) printf

Name
printf - format and print data
Synopsis
printf FORMAT [ARGUMENT]...
printf OPTION
Description
Print ARGUMENT(s) according to FORMAT, or execute according to OPTION:

    --help
display this help and exit
    --version
output version information and exit
FORMAT controls the output as in C printf. Interpreted sequences are:

    \"
double quote

    \\
backslash

    \a
alert (BEL)

    \b
backspace

    \c
produce no further output

    \e
escape

    \f
form feed

    \n
new line

    \r
carriage return

    \t
horizontal tab

    \v
vertical tab

    \NNN
byte with octal value NNN (1 to 3 digits)

    \xHH
byte with hexadecimal value HH (1 to 2 digits)

    \uHHHH
Unicode (ISO/IEC 10646) character with hex value HHHH (4 digits)

    \UHHHHHHHH
Unicode character with hex value HHHHHHHH (8 digits)

    %%
a single %

    %b
ARGUMENT as a string with '\' escapes interpreted, except that octal escapes are of the form \0 or \0NNN
and all C format specifications ending with one of diouxXfeEgGcs, with ARGUMENTs converted to proper type first. Variable widths are handled.

NOTE: your shell may have its own version of printf, which usually supersedes the version described here. Please refer to your shell's documentation for details about the options it supports.

